


These gays can't do math [version 2 electric boogaloo]

by Lowqualityenglish



Series: These gays can't do math [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora is a football player (not american football bc I'm british), Alternate Universe - High School, Catra is a painter, Catra-centric (She-Ra), F/F, Gay Panic, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:46:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29962491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lowqualityenglish/pseuds/Lowqualityenglish
Summary: "What, you think that just because we're in the same class she will immediately fall in love with me and we'll live happily ever after? Do you even know who you're talking about here?"Adora, captain of the girls' football team, try hard and arguably the most popular girl in the school -according to Catra- moves into Catra's math class, and all they do is flirt. Obliviously.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: These gays can't do math [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203713
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	1. Monday 2nd November

**Author's Note:**

> Hello people from the old version and also hello new people :D! I decided to rewrite this fic because I didn't like how I ended it last time. Hopefully it turns out better :P

Catra, Scorpia and Entrapta were all sitting together at the back of an empty art classroom finishing up last minute homework and chatting about anything and everything. There was paper and pencils scattered about the table and their backpacks were hanging from their chairs, nothing different from the usual. 

They had been friends with Catra since her first day at Bright Moon. It's been four years since then, but it didn't feel like it. In all honesty she wasn't sure what they even saw in her that was instantly friend material, but after 16 years of feeling excluded, they were most likely the best people to come into her life.

"Would you like to hear about the results of some of my experiments?" Entrapta asked excitedly.

Scorpia looked at Catra knowingly, with a worried expression. She certainly noticed their reactions because then she followed with, "Okay, fine, something else… The only other thing I know that might be interesting to you is that I heard Adora was moving into your math class, Catra!"

She looked at Entrapta, confused. "Why would I care that Adora of all people is now in my math class? That just means she failed a test or something. I'm sure she'll be back in her old class within a week." 

"But you don't know that! Besides she's cute… And definitely your type!" 

Immediately, her face grew red and she looked down at the worn down carpet.

"What, you think that just because we're in the same class she will immediately fall in love with me and we'll live happily ever after? Do you even know who you're talking about here?" She raised her arms in the air aggressively to emphasise her point, "Oh yes, Adora , captain of the girls' football team, try hard and arguably the most popular girl in the school and me, Catra, a mere loser in comparison, definitely the power couple of the century."

Only afterwards did she realise how self deprecating and sad that sounded, but she couldn't exactly take back what she said. Besides, it wasn't a lie. How could Entrapta possibly think that could ever work? 

Entrapta didn't quite catch on to the sarcasm of Catra's comment, as she declared, "Yes, exactly! I can totally help you two get together!" Before anyone could object, she was off, determined to complete her mission. 

Even Scorpia was stunned at the interaction. They both sat there for a moment, before she turned around to try and comfort Catra. 

"I'm sure everything will work out in the end, you know? If you want Entrapta to stop, I'll let her know. The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable, Wildcat." 

This time, the nickname brought her some comfort and reassurance. "Thanks Scorpia. That, uh - it means a lot." 

Catra wasn't quite sure what to say other than that, but for Scorpia, it was more than enough. Her face was stretched into a tooth rotting grin, and her pincers were hovering over her chest. 

"Awww, Catra!" There were almost hearts in her eyes, "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you get sappy?" 

"I am not sappy!" She yelled defensively. 

"Whatever you say, Wildcat! Oh, and guess what lesson we have now!" 

Catra sighed in defeat, "It's math, isn't it."

"Yup! And it's starting soon, so we better go. Also, you're not a loser." 

_______________

"Oh fuck," Catra cursed under her breath as she approached the classroom. 

Entrapta could have done absolutely anything in the time that she left, and Catra was afraid to find out. Not even the Gods could know what she would do. All she could do was remember to take deep breaths as she walked in - a tip she'd learned from Scorpia a long time ago. There was no way she would meet Adora properly for the first time looking like a nervous wreck. Not that it mattered or anything.

Nothing had changed since the two weeks they had been gone. Hardly anyone had arrived yet, mainly because Catra was uncharacteristically early. She usually prided herself on being 'fashionably late' to this class, the look on her teacher's face was priceless everytime. 

Quickly, she scanned the room to see who had already arrived, when her eyes set on one girl. Adora. 

Her blonde hair was tied in its typical high ponytail, and it fell around the nape of her neck. She wore a white turtleneck, red jacket, and grey jeans. Catra knew she was attractive, but so did everyone else. She was the epitome of beautiful blue eyed blonde girls. Immediately Catra pushed that thought to the back of her mind. There was no way she would give in that easily; plus there was no way Adora would ever notice her, either. 

Although, Adora didn't quite look as confident as she had remembered. Under the desk, Catra noticed her feet bouncing slightly, and she looked restless. Her eyes were fixed on her pencil case, which was in front of her, and her brows furrowed. She couldn't help but feel empathetic for Adora. The way she looked reminded her too much of herself, which she never thought she would ever say about the captain of the football team of all people. Catra almost felt guilty for seeing her so vulnerable, as though she was invading Adora's privacy only by staring. 

After realising just how long she'd spent staring, she rushed to find a seat, and panicked. Before she even knew it, she was standing next to Adora, frozen. 

Catra cursed under her breath yet again to compose herself, and pulled a chair out from under the desk, but didn't sit in it. Instead, she hopped onto the table, and used the chair as a footstool. The scene she made caused Adora to loosen her grip on her arms and look up at her, and any nervousness that Catra saw before was gone. Catra's confidence faltered in that moment, only managing to squeak a "Hey, Adora." 

She thought that maybe she had just imagined what she saw before, or Adora was just incredibly good at covering up her emotions, in that moment she couldn't tell. 

Adora responded with an uncertain "Hey… Uh, Catra?" 

Shit. Adora knew her name? How was she supposed to prepare herself for this? 

For better or for worse, the rest of the class began to enter, most in clusters of friends, which made her wonder, did Adora actually have no friends in this class? This reignited a confident spark, and Catra decided to reluctantly move off the desk - mainly because the teacher would have her head if she was caught - but also so she could claim her place next to Adora. 

Then, embarrassingly, her mismatched eyes met with the blue of Adora's, she felt her whole body grow hot, and her face blossom with red. How long had she been staring at Adora? Or more importantly, how long had Adora noticed for and not said anything? She wanted to dig her own grave in that moment, crawl into it and hide forever. Yet at the same time, she wanted to stare at those eyes for as long as she could. 

What the fuck was this feeling?

Before Catra could embarrass herself anymore, she tore her eyes away from Adora's undeniably pretty face and pretended to be invested in finding her math textbook in her backpack.

The class quieted down as their teacher arrived, and she definitely did not look thrilled to be back. Catra couldn't care less about what they were learning that day, and instead decided to let her mind wander, thinking about anything that wasn't math. 

Her teacher had been droning on for what seemed like forever about stupid triangles and pythagoras' theorem when Catra finally decided to listen again. She couldn't stand this subject - it required far more brain power and logic than she could handle. It was bad enough before, but now she had other things plaguing her mind, like Adora's stupid face. It felt like her body was bending over backwards just to not look at Adora. Don't look at her.

She looked at Adora. 

Luckily for her, the quick glance went unnoticed, as she was too focused on her work. Typical try-hard Adora. Fuck. She let herself get distracted again. There was no way she was going to let her have control over her like that; she had only been in this class for half an hour at most.

I hate her. She thought. Coming into this class, so entitled and full of herself, who does she think she is? If Adora thinks she can control me that easily, she has another thing coming. 

With that thought, she decided to actually get some work done. Besides, Scorpia would be upset with her if she didn't try at least a little bit on the first day back. Glancing over her shoulder, she tried to determine how far ahead Adora was, but clearly the whole of Etheria was against her today. 

"Catra! Keep your eyes on your own work!" 

She felt her teacher's death stare even without looking up. I wasn't even cheating! Gods, she hated math so much. It didn't help that her teacher was Mrs Weaver, infamous for being one of the worst teachers in the entire school. Probably arguably one of the worst teachers in the whole of Bright Moon, and it was a miracle she was even offered a job here in the first place. How someone like her became a teacher, Catra had no idea.

She didn't even get bad grades in this class either, but it was clear from the start that no matter what Catra did, her teacher wouldn't care. Which is why she never turned up on time. It frustrated her to know that Mrs Weaver could abuse her power like that.

Staring down at the worksheet in front of her, all the words seemed to jumble together. If she could focus, it would be a lot easier, but there were too many things going on in her head for that.

Frustratedly, she put her head in her hands and scoffed at the textbook in front of her. 

Stupid fucking math. 

Adora seemed to notice Catra's obvious vexation towards the work, and offered to help. 

"Hey, um, Catra? Are you okay?" the girl began, "I can help you with the work if you want…" Her voice trailed off as Catra glared at her. 

She immediately wanted to be defensive, to yell at Adora that she didn't need help from someone like her - It was something Catra did to hide her vulnerability, a fake tough personality she put on so people wouldn't pity her. However, it also made people hate her. Scorpia and Entrapta were some of the only people who saw through that. 

Catra sighed, "Fine, you can help me. Just don't treat me like a baby. I will not hesitate to kick your ass if you start to act patronising!" 

Adora laughed, and it warmed Catra's insides. Was she actually joking around with Adora? Someone she had only just met? 

"Ok well there isn't long left, but we can stay after the class ends to get it done." She smiled at Catra, but then immediately looked away. Catra noticed Adora looking down at her feet, and decided to smirk at her. 

This only made Adora more flustered, and Catra found it hilarious.

"Etheria to Adora!" She said in a singsong voice, "Are you going to help with this math question or stare at your feet the whole time? I'm pretty sure foot fetishes have nothing to do with math!" 

"I do not have a- ugh!" Adora sighed as she reached over for her pen, "Let's just get this over with." 

Adora moved to sit closer to Catra so she could write on the girl's sheet. Their arms brushed slightly, and she shuddered, the fuzzy fur on her shoulders stood on end. Even after Adora moved away, she could still feel a tingling sensation where they touched. Overwhelmed with the feeling, she didn't hear Adora talking her way through the question.

"...So then you take these numbers and put them into the calculator like- Catra? Are you even paying attention?" 

Coming back to reality, she stuttered, "Um- yes?" Then she looked up at Adora, who was raising her eyebrows knowingly.

"Okay, if you were listening, then try doing this question." Adora pushed the sheet and pen towards Catra and pointed at the problem.

She skimmed over the question, hoping that maybe she would be able to bullshit her way through it. But after staring at the sheet and feeling it taunt her for as long as she could, she reluctantly sighed, "Okay, fine, I wasn't listening. Sue me." she looked down at her feet, embarrassed. 

To her surprise, Adora wasn't mad. "Look who has the foot fetish now!" the girl taunted. 

"Hey!" Catra yelled defensively, "You can't use my own insult against me!" 

"Sue me." Adora teased. 

"Wha- HEY! You can't just- you can't just do it again!" Catra shoved Adora playfully, no longer worried about getting the work done. Adora shoved back, but harder, clearly intent on winning this shoving-match. 

"Oh, you're on." Catra narrowed her eyes and shoved Adora with her whole body, however, clearly underestimating her weight. She ended up in Adora's lap, her heart racing. 

Looking up at Adora from her position, she saw her blush profusely, but then she bounced back immediately. "Ha! I think you lost this round. I think you forgot about these bad boys." She flexed her arms on either side but didn't break eye contact with Catra. 

What kind of game was Adora trying to play?

"Agh!" Catra jumped out of Adora's lap and back into her chair. "Let's just- let's just carry on doing the work ok?" 

For the rest of the lesson, Catra couldn't stop the rise of heat in her cheeks. Every time she looked at or spoke to Adora, it only grew warmer, and she didn't know what to do. It frustrated her to no end - Adora's teaching wasn't half bad, and the numbers on the page were becoming much less of a blur - but she couldn't bring herself to look at the girl for more than a split second for fear her heart would jump out of her chest. She didn't know what love felt like - maybe she just wanted to be really good friends with Adora? She supposed that was it. 

She couldn't have been more wrong. 

The class finally ended after one excruciatingly long hour, and Catra was just about to close her textbook, when she noticed Adora's handwriting in the bottom corner of the page. 

Adora. Fucking. Greyskull's phone number.

Catra couldn't believe what she was seeing. Adora - captain of the football team, undoubtedly hot, try hard, gave Catra her number, and not only that, a message which read 'Text me if you ever need help with math again <3' The whole message was tooth-rottingly cute. She pursed her lips together to hide the goofy smile she so desperately wanted to pull. 

As Catra left the classroom, she threw Adora one last smirk for good measure. For the first time ever, she couldn't wait for her next math lesson. 

At last it was finally lunch, and Catra headed over to the classroom opposite the main field where they spent their breaks.

____________________

The memories of the last lesson with Adora were still playing in her mind; just as vividly. Over and over, she thought about how she'd ended up in her lap, the heat rising in her cheeks, and best of all - how she actually managed to get her number! Just this once she let her face fall into a lovestruck grin - it was impossible not to - as much as she resisted it, there was no denying that there were some feelings there. 

"Catra! Hey!" the sound of Scorpia's voice pulled her from her trance. She was met with a curious look. "What's gotten you so smiley?"

Scorpia placed her bag down carefully and sat in the seat beside her, while Catra debated whether or not to retell all the events from her math lesson. On the one hand, she was itching to get it off her chest; all she wanted to do was talk about her, stupid face, try hard energy and all. But then again, Scorpia was overzealous in situations like these and there was no length she wouldn't go to ensure that they got together.

Catra sighed, sitting on the seat opposite to Scorpia, pondering where she would even begin. Scorpia had her wide, caring eyes on her, patiently awaiting an explanation. 

"Uhm…" she fumbled with her words, in an attempt to explain herself, "So you know what Entrapta said about Adora moving into my math class?"

While she ran through all the details, she found herself blushing and looking at her feet every time she said Adora's name; a feeble attempt at trying to hide the rush of blood that flushed her cheeks. It was too soon for Scorpia to know just how much she was pining. 

Was she actually pining for this girl already? 

After explaining everything that went down, she fumbled with her hands, waiting for a response. It seemed she was speechless, and Catra hated it. Scorpia always had something to say, why would it be any different now? 

"I- wow-" She stammered, clearly struggling to find the right words to say.

Catra grimaced, preparing for the worst, but nothing came. Except-

"I am so happy for you, Catra!" She yelled. Catra was certain everyone in the entire school heard. "I can't believe you two hit it off so well! Plus she gave you her number! Wow… You two must really have a special bond."

"A special bond?" Catra questioned, "Scorpia, we've only just met. It's not like I want to run off into the sunset with her and make out. Plus we're only friends because she wants to help me with my math work since she came from a higher group." 

Scorpia was clearly disheartened by Catra's excuses. "So what? Doing math work together is the perfect way to bond! I guess if you wanted to spend even more time together, you could invite her to your house?"

Catra stopped Scorpia at that thought immediately. Adora, coming over to her house? No chance. "I hate to break it to you, Scorpia, but I don't think we're ready to have dates at each other's houses." Emphasis on the word dates. 

"What? I never said that it would be a date. Just a chance for you to, you know, find out more about each other! Unless… You want it to be a date?" 

"I- fuck- no, Scorpia I do not want to go on a date with stupid smirk-faced Adora!"

"You didn't seem to think she was so stupid when you were sitting in her lap." 

"Hey! That was an accident!" 

"Whatever makes you feel better, Wildcat."

Before she could defend herself anymore, or dig herself deeper into a hole she couldn't get out of, she noticed Scorpia looking out the window behind her, eyes wide, grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't look behind you Wildcat, there's someone there you might not wanna see." 

"Scorpia, you can't just say that! Now I really want to look! Who is it?" 

Catra didn't give Scorpia the time to answer her question. She whipped her head around to work out who this someone was, and it didn't come as much of a surprise to her when she saw who Scorpia was talking about. 

There, in the middle of the school field was Adora. Her blonde hair was still tied in its typical high ponytail, but instead of her red jacket and white turtleneck combo, she was sporting Bright Moon school football team gear. And fuck - Catra couldn't bring herself to look away. Even from a distance she could see the soft curves and shadows of her muscular arms, and that definition continued all the way down her torso, to her calves. Since when had it become so hot?

It wasn't long before Adora took a glance at her surroundings, her eyes immediately latching on to Catra's. Realising that she had totally been caught red handed, Catra tore her eyes away immediately, and slammed her head down on the table between her and Scorpia. 

"Hey, you ok down there, Wildcat?" 

All she got was a loud groan for a response "Adora… She totally caught me… Checking her out…" 

She didn't actually realise what she had said until Scorpia responded, "You were checking her out?! I need you to be honest here, do you want to be friends with Adora, or do you want something more?" 

Truthfully, Catra wasn't sure. Two days really wasn't enough time for her to decide if she wanted to have a girlfriend. Let alone have Adora be said girlfriend. 

"I-" she faltered immediately. "Scorpia, what does it feel like to have a crush?" 

In all honesty, Catra had no experience dating in her life. It had never been a priority for her, especially since she spent the good majority of her teenage years pushing people away. There would have been no chance of anyone ever getting close to even being her friend, let alone girlfriend. She wasn't sure if she would regret asking Scorpia such a dumb question. Everyone else she knew or heard of had at least some experience with a crush, but she hadn't.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm the best at relationship advice, but uh, I can tell you what I know from my own experience?"

"Go ahead." 

"Well, when I realised I had a crush on Perfuma - you know Perfuma, she was a part of the gardening club and all that… Anyway, I suppose it all felt a bit magical? That's the only way I can explain it. When we touched, like even by accident, it felt electric. I would forget how to breathe, and my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest - but in a good way, the best way possible. Ah, just thinking about it makes me- I can already feel the butterflies-"

Catra's eyes were open as wide as they could possibly go. Listening to everything Scorpia said, it made her think that maybe, she might have a little bit of a crush on Adora. She knew that Scorpia was a very emotional person, so she was not shocked to see fresh tears streaming down her face. 

"All I wanted to do was hold her, kiss her, listen to her favourite songs, and kiss her more… It was horrible having to work up the courage to ask her out. But I knew that it would be worth it, because then I could finally do all those things! And it worked out, obviously, because it's been nearly a year now… Oh man, I'm so happy for you Catra!"

"Hey, I never said I actually have a crush on her, dummy!" She wouldn't admit it to her, not yet. "I'll try to spend more time with her like you said… And I'll let you know how it goes, okay?" 

That response was more than enough to satisfy her, and they continued to eat their lunch in peace, talking about things other than girls. That was until Catra heard the sound of Adora's voice, shouting across the field. 

Shit. She had completely forgotten that Adora was working with the rest of the football team, right behind her. 

"Okay! Just 10 more reps and then we're done! You guys played great today!" 

For better or for worse, Catra turned around to find the source of the voice. There, at the edge of the field Adora stood, chugging from her water bottle. This only made her already awkward predicament, well, more awkward. 

"Why don't you go over and say hi? I'll still be here, I haven't got anywhere to be until our next lesson," Scorpia suggested. 

"Just go over and say hi? That sounds like a terrible idea." 

"Well, you wanted to get to know her better, yeah? This is the first step! Take initiative! I believe in you Wildcat!" 

She swallowed a gulp and took a deep breath before exiting the classroom, and heading towards the pitch. She didn't look back just to prove that she could do it.

Yeah, I can talk to girls! I'm not a completely useless lesbian! 

And there Adora was, right in front of her. Wiping the sweat from her brow and going through some light cool down stretches. 

I'm not a useless lesbian. I got this. 

"Hi, I'm a lesbian." Catra stated. 

Fuck. 

If she ever wanted to die before, that was nothing compared to how much she wanted to now. "Hi, I'm a lesbian."? What was she thinking? Or more importantly how could she not have thought before she spoke?

Adora looked up from her position mid-stretch, and said, "Yeah, same." 

Was she just messing with her? Or was Adora actually telling the truth? She supposed there was no harm in asking, maybe it would make for an interesting conversation starter? Ah, who was she kidding. This has got to be one of the most awkward conversation starters she has ever had in her life. And she'd had many. 

"For real?" She looked anywhere but where Adora was standing. 

"Yeah, I've known since I was 12."

Catra had no idea what to say next, she hadn't prepared this far ahead. Some part of her expected her to just say hi and leave, but clearly that was not happening today. 

"Wow, I uh- I didn't know until recently. You know, I thought I liked boys, or maybe I was broken, I don't know. I think I only just realised today what love feels like-" She realised how much she was rambling and cut herself off. There was no way she was going to tell Adora about how Scorpia explained to her what having a crush was like. 

"Well, everyone grows at their own pace. Don't sweat it. Anyway, I like uh- it was nice seeing you outside of class, Catra! Don't let my phone number collect dust in your textbook!" 

Then she was gone, back to the changing rooms presumably to get ready for afternoon lessons. Catra soon recognised the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, and the heat rising in her cheeks once again. There was still a long way to go. 


	2. 9th November

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You did what?" Catra exclaimed, half frustrated, half amazed.
> 
> "I just hacked into the school system and changed Adora's timetable!" Entrapta explained, "Now Adora has at least one class with you a day."
> 
> "Can't you get expelled for that? Was my love life really worth that kind of risk?"
> 
> "Absolutely!"

The next week consisted of two things; time spent with Adora, and time spent thinking about her. She hadn't quite had the guts to text her yet, so she just made the most of the time they had together in classes. Which was a lot of time.

"You did what?" Catra exclaimed, half frustrated, half amazed.

"I just hacked into the school system and changed Adora's timetable!" Entrapta explained, "Now Adora has at least one class with you a day."

"Can't you get expelled for that? Was my love life really worth that kind of risk?"

"Absolutely!"

Catra slumped back further into her seat, sighing. She really didn't want anything to happen to Entrapta on her behalf.

"So, Catra, have you decided to text Adora yet?" Scorpia asked.

"No…" She answered truthfully, "I'm working on it though." 

"You are?" she questioned, "Maybe you could ease into it, like, I don't know… You could say 'hey!' and then ask her on a date!" 

Catra grimaced, "That's too forward! It's _way_ too soon to ask her out. Although maybe she could come eat lunch with us? I think it would be easier if you guys were there, too." 

"Absolutely, Wildcat! I can't wait! Text her now and say to meet us here at 12:30 tomorrow!"

"I've got a group project meeting tomorrow, so I can't be there." Entrapta explained, "But I could set up a camera and watch how it goes from afar?"

"I don't think Adora would appreciate being spied on. I'll text you how it goes ok?"

"Sounds good! Don't miss anything out!"

Her hands shook as she typed out the message to Adora. She was somewhat embarrassed that this was the first time she had texted her number.

"Does this sound ok, Scorpia? 'Hey Adora, it's Catra. Do you wanna eat lunch together tomorrow? I'll be at the bench opposite the field at half 12 if you're down. :) see ya.'" 

"Perfect! I don't see any reason why she would say no!" 

_She hit send_. 

To her surprise, the read notification appeared immediately. Three dots soon followed, signalling that Adora was typing. 

'Of course! I'll definitely be there. <3' 

"Scorpia, she put a heart at the end of her message. I think I'm going to die." 

"Really!? That's so great, Catra, you know she is totally into you!" 

"You think so? I- not that- It's not that I like her but.. Really?"

Scorpia feigned belief in what Catra said, "Yeah, it's pretty obvious, I'm sure she is also wondering if you like her back, which I'm guessing you don't-" 

"No, yeah! I do- don't like her!"

"Whatever you say, Wildcat." 

____________________

Catra's next lesson was math, which meant more time to catch up with Adora! Not that she was excited to see her or anything. 

She was a little early for her lesson that day, so she slipped into the classroom while no one was there, perhaps just in case Adora would be early too. It was quiet for a while, she'd left her headphones at home so there was no chance of listening to music to fill the empty space while she waited, but soon enough, she wasn't alone.

"Hey, Catra!" Adora gave her a small wave and a big smile. 

_Fuck, she's so cute._

"Hey, Adora," Catra was blushing already, and they hadn't even had a real conversation. 

"How come you're so early?" 

_Observant_. "I dunno, just had nothing else to do."

"Mhm," She eyed her knowingly.

"What, it's true!"

Adora absolutely took that exclamation with a million grains of salt, because there was no way in hell that Catra would come to math early simply because she was _bored_. They'd only known each other for maybe a fortnight at most, and Adora had already figured out her tactics.

"You wanna go pee before the lesson starts?"

In all honesty, Catra was taken aback by the forwardness of the question, but she didn't refuse. "Sure, why not?"

They pushed through the door and headed down the stairs, to what Catra thought was the nearest toilets. 

"No, come this way," Adora said, "It's more private." 

_More private?_ Catra still hadn't quite figured out Adora's intentions like Adora had for her, but she followed anyway, not daring to ask any questions.

Adora led her out a back door, and round a corner to a different block of the school. The toilets here were almost always empty, particularly because they were never restocked, what good was a toilet if it had no paper, soap or working dryers?

"I can't stand how busy the toilets get before lessons," Adora stated, "It makes my chest feel tight, I don't know why." She laughed, presumably to try and break the thick tension in the air. 

Catra leaned against the wall with the broken sinks, while Adora went in.

"Oh," was all Catra could say, "I know what that feels like." 

"You do?" Her voice echoed slightly over the walls.

"Uhm, yeah. Not nice."

She heard Adora try and flush, but only a loud creak came of it, and maybe a small trickle of water. 

"Ah fuck," Adora cursed, "Still better than being in a crowded and sweaty toilet." 

She came out from the cubicle and fumbled around in her backpack for some hand sanitiser. It had a silicone case with horses on it. 

"Horses? Really?" Catra laughed.

"Hey! What's wrong with that? Besides, the taps don't work properly either, so it's better than nothing,"

"Yeah you must really have a grudge against those _working_ toilets" 

"I do! I will fight them - with a sword - if I had one!"

"Okay, sword lady, good luck with that." 

"I _will_ win! Down with the working toilets!" Adora pressed her hands into fists. "Ugh I guess we better head off before Mrs Weaver has both of our heads. Maybe I should defeat _her_ with my sword." 

"I would _pay_ you to do that." Catra laughed. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time, and it was nice. Scorpia and Entrapta were great, but this was new.

"So, you got anything interesting coming up?" Catra asked. She hadn't really gotten to know what Adora did outside of school, other than her role as captain of the football team. 

"Well, I have a pretty big game coming up, for football, obviously. We have to win this game to move up next season, so basically everyone is counting on me, being the captain and all. But yeah, no pressure." 

"Damn, well I'm sure you'll kick everyone's ass, _sword lady_." 

Adora grinned. _Was that a blush Catra saw?_

"I better kick ass. I've been training my butt off recently, my legs are sometimes so stiff I _can't move!_ It's gonna be such a relief when it's over… I just- I really hope I can pull it off." She fumbled nervously with her hands. 

Out of reflex, Catra grabbed one hand, and softly circled her thumb over the dorsal side. This was how Scorpia used to comfort Catra when she was nervous. Physical touch and positive affirmations. "Well, you know, if you doubt yourself any more, I will be the one kicking ass. Hint - it will be _yours_."

Adora laughed, and squeezed Catra's hand. Her face soon fell, though. "I guess I'll be getting a lot of kicks in the ass then. I'm not exactly the queen of self confidence…" 

Before Catra could respond, they were already inside their math classroom. She immediately let go of Adora's hand, embarrassed that she had held it for so long. So much for not letting Adora know she liked her. 

She sighed, placing herself in her seat. _What could she do?_

__________________

After math was art, and her teacher, Micah, was rambling on about the next steps for their coursework. As it was coming somewhat closer to the end of term, they had been given a four week long project for their assessment. At the end they were going to have a small gallery show for everyone's projects.

Catra had been drawing probably since she could hold a pencil, and somehow the work actually paid off. This class was where she got the highest greades, although she never really thought much of her projects, especially for school. She found herself doing the first thing that came to her mind, and threw it all together when she had the motivation to make it work how she imagined. This time it was proving to be much more difficult, as her teacher had devised a six week schedule, which he would check they had completed every Monday. Catra would actually have to do things according to plan. 

For her assessment project she'd decided to do portraits. She considered herself to be the least bad at that. 

"Why don't you try doing self portraits? You could set up a self timer on the camera-"

"Absolutely not. I don't want to paint my face for 5 hours straight. Thanks for the suggestion, though."

"Ok, then maybe you could find yourself a model? It would be interesting to see how you would capture the face of someone you liked."

 _Someone she liked._ Her mind instantly flew to Adora, but she wasn't sure if her heart could handle it.

Maybe Scorpia or Entrapta? _No_. None of them felt right for this.

Deep down she was well aware that both girls would be just fine for her project - these were just excuses she made because she secretly knew that Adora was the only one she wanted.

As everyone was working on their projects at the same time, Catra knew that she would have to prepare early in order to get a chance to use the cameras. She had reserved her place for after school on Wednesday, and all she could do now was hope that Adora would say yes to her offer. Luckily for Catra, they had math together again the next day, which would be the perfect chance for her to ask.

_______________

Adora and Catra both entered the classroom, sitting down in their usual seats. It was quiet as they waited for more people to arrive, and Catra knew that this would be the best time to ask Adora to be in her project. The only issue was that she couldn't push past the nerves that were holding her back; It felt as though she had forgotten how to speak. 

"Hey, uh, Adora? I wanted to ask -" 

Mrs Weaver arrived at the worst time. "Okay, everyone we're going to be doing textbook work today, so open to page 264, and do as much as you can."

Once the conversation had died down a little, Adora spoke. 

"So what were you saying before? Did you want to ask me something?" 

Catra had secretly hoped that Adora hadn't heard her, but of _course_ she remembered. "Oh, it's uh - it was nothing. Nothing important." 

"You sure? I don't mind, this class is boring, anyway." 

Catra could feel the shake in her voice as she spoke, "Well, we're starting this four week project for art, and I chose to do portraiture. My teacher actually suggested that I do self portraits! Doesn't that sound like the worst thing ever?" She was well aware that she was dancing around the actual question.

"I don't think I've ever drawn a self portrait before, but yeah, I wouldn't want to look at my own face for that long," She laughed, "So what are you going to do instead?" 

"Well that's the thing, I uh-" She paused for a second, and continued, "I've reserved a place so that I can use the cameras this Thursday, and I was wondering if you would - if you wanted to model for me?" 

Adora's face lit up, and Catra breathed a sigh of relief. "That sounds so cool! Of course I'll do it!" 

"Really? It isn't like uh, too much trouble?" She hated how uncertain she sounded.

"Of course! I'd have to be a bit late training to have time to do it, but yeah, I'll definitely be there! I didn't know that you did art."

"Yeah, I don't really announce it much to people I've just met, but I really like to paint. I guess since you're my model it's only fair that I show you it sometime."

Adora was practically bouncing in her seat, "Yes! I mean, yeah that would be cool."

Catra smiled.

The rest of the lesson Adora questioned her about what she would need to do to be a good model and what Catra's art was like.

"Do I need to do makeup? My friend Bow does really nice makeup. And do I have to wear anything fancy, I don't even know if I own any fancy clothes."

"Hey, relax, you can wear and look however you want, besides, you'd look pretty -"

Adora looked at her wide eyed, and she couldn't finish her sentence.

"You'd look pretty either way." She mumbled.

"You think… I'm pretty?"

"Well, duh, I thought I was being too obvious.. I guess not…"

"I think you're pretty too." 

Catra was pretty sure her heart stopped beating right there and then.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna write more but I always overthink it jfhds >:[ anyways I hope u liked this chapter!


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